Erica Bondarev
Adjunct Professorial Lecturer
Performing Arts
Degrees
Graduate Certiticate, Arts Management, American University Bachelor of Arts, International Studies and Russian Language & Literature, Minor in Music, National Merit Scholar.
Bio
Experienced in both the academic study and practical applications of arts management, Erica Bondarev Rapach has been working in the field for nearly 20 years and earned her Master's Certificate in Arts Management from American University. Erica received her bachelor's degree in international studies and Russian language and literature with a minor in music from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Erica has held positions with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, starting her arts management career in marketing and growing into executive leadership. Most recently, Erica was Associate Executive Director of The Clarice where she informed the design and implementation of partnership-based programs and created professional development opportunities for emerging arts leaders. Erica served as Acting Executive Director of The Clarice from 2020-2022, during the peak of the global pandemic and the long overdue racial reckoning in the United States. In her acting capacity, she successfully led the organization through crisis, demonstrating her committment to anti-racism, aesthetic equity, and inclusive access to the arts.
Erica began her tenure with The Clarice in 2009 as Director of Marketing and Communications, where she oversaw media relations, advertising, promotions, and guest experience. Erica came to The Clarice in 2009 from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, where she helped launch the BSO at Strathmore’s marketing campaign, spearheaded the redesign of the orchestra’s website, and initiated its digital marketing strategy.
A violinist by hobby, Erica played with the Volgograd Symphony Orchestra while a Peace Corps volunteer in Russia and initiated a first-ever U.S. tour for the group. This led her to arts administration. She is fluent in Russian and learning Portuguese. Erica cares about the colors, textures, scents, sounds, and sights of her surroundings and believes in the power of personal style as a communication tool. She sees fashion as art.
Erica's natural state is not stillness, but she knows the importance of rest. She practices moving meditation on her yoga mat and relies on travel to both inspire and reset. She is married to a fellow arts adminsistrator and has two, bilcultural teenage daughters who are artistic and non-conforming.
